Stop Striving

As I was seeking God's help in fighting my anxiety God spoke something to me that was shocking and yet so freeing, "Stop striving."  A few days later the same message appeared during my Bible reading.  I came across Proverbs 10:22 which says, "The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, without painful toil for it. (NIV)"  This idea is very difficult for many of us to accept, that we don't need to work so hard to receive God's blessing.  For those growing up in America as I did, we were always surrounded by the idea that if you work hard and strive to do your best then you will achieve your goals, you will find wealth, you will find happiness.  The problem with this idea is that it negates God and His awesome power by having us take our future and well-being into our own hands.  If we are in control of our lives then how can God give us the best He has to offer us, and how can He use us as He wants for the betterment of His Kingdom if we don't let go?  Jesus even said in Luke 9:23-24, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.  For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. (NIV)"  This means that we lay down our ideas of how our lives should go, of our earthly hopes and dreams, and we lay down our human strife in order for God to use us and guide us down the path He has for us, with the ultimate payoff being eternal life with Him in Heaven!  And the best part is that the work He has planned for us gives us peace of mind and heart, not stress and pain as many earthly jobs do.

So what does it look like when we stop striving?  Let me first paint a picture of what my life looked like before I laid down my strife.  After becoming a Christian I still felt that I needed to do something to prove myself to God.  I wanted Him to be proud of me just as I want my earthly parents to be proud of me.  I would try to fix my sins myself, would try to control relationships so that they were as perfect and Godly as possible, and take on more than I could handle.  The end result was a big mess.  I would get overwhelmed in my sins and anxiety would toss me around, I got into more fights with my friends and fiancee, and I was so busy and stressed that I couldn't appreciate what was around me.  In the few days since I've laid down my strife I've felt incredibly more peaceful and happy.  I'm trusting God to help me with my sins and seeking His help in my battles, I'm letting the people I care about be themselves and wait in joyful anticipation to see what God does with them and the relationships we share, and despite having my hours cut at work (and a cut in pay) I've been able to enjoy more time with God and people I care about.  This is how I want to continue living my life, following God and seeing where He guides me without striving to do the best I can.  And God has shown me the greatest truth in the greatest lie I believed; that He loves me and is proud of me no matter what and there's nothing I need to do but trust Him and love Him in return!

Let me be clear, this does not mean that you should just sit around at home and wait for God to do something or tell you something.  God doesn't work like a class where we have to sit and study and take notes.  There's no test to take, no A to gain!  God works through application, through our trial and error.  We need to get out so we can appreciate the world He created and build relationships with people He created.  You will see what God wants you to do, which paths to continue down, and which to turn from.  We need to get out to provide opportunities for God to work, and let Him do the rest.  If He wants something to happen for you or wants you to be somewhere or with someone then nothing can stop Him from making that happen... He's God!  If He closes some doors then we need to trust they are for a reason.  Trust God and lay down your striving!  There's nothing more you can do to please Him, He loves you so much already!